Silver Sky
by DracoSlayer95
Summary: On an ordinary summer day, Neptune decides to ask her teacher something that's been on her mind for quite a while. Under the radiant sunset the two share a heart-to-heart.


Neptune was really having a bad time.

"I've got you this time!" The purple-haired girl swung her wooden sword at her opponent with a powerful side swipe aimed for the ribs, but just as with the other dozen times it looked like she was going to land a hit, she was blocked and thrown backwards and on to her bum. "Kuh…" Not one to give up, she got back up, using her practice sword to steady herself and keep her from falling over. "One more time!"

The rest of the practice match went on the same as all the others before it. Try as she might, Neptune could never land a single hit on the silver-haired swordswoman, but her butt did become very well acquainted with the ground beneath her feet by the end of their little sparing session.

Several hours must have passed since they first started, Neptune realized. They had started training while the sun was still just barely rising, but now it was slowly beginning its descent back behind the mountains. But hey, at least it wasn't as bad as the time Neptune had stayed till nighttime and Nepgear and company had to carry her back home. Histoire really gave her a hell of an earful for that one.

"Looks like you're getting better. You almost had me there."

"Oh, really? Where exactly?"

"Right around there."

"Where?"

"There."

"Where?"

"It was definitely around there."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No. You've definitely improved since the first time we sparred."

"You really mean that?"

"Of course. You actually _know_ how to swing a sword now instead of flailing around like a moron."

Neptune almost scoffed at that remark, but she held back since she knew she'd probably get bopped over the head for it. The mere thought of that had her rubbing her head from the painful memories. She swore she could still feel the older woman's fist on her skull.

Shaking the unpleasant thought away, Neptune got up from her spot on the ground and glanced around, noticing the silver-haired woman sitting seiza style and admiring the sunset. Neptune knew she should probably head home soon to avoid worrying her family, but there was something she'd been dying to ask for a long time. She'd never thought much on it, but the more she trained, the more it came to the forefront of her mind.

She mentally apologized to Nepgear. Looks like she was going to have to wait just a little bit longer while Neptune sated her own selfish curiosity.

"Hey, Arfy?"

"Class might be over, but this is still my dojo, brat."

Neptune winced at the woman's words. "R-Right… Sorry… Silver- _Sensei_?"

"Better… So, what is it?" asked the woman without looking back.

It was a bit awkward talking to the woman's back, so Neptune decided to take a seat next to her teacher. The woman's red eyes were looking towards the sunset, but looking at them, Neptune almost got the feeling that she was looking past them at something else, but what that was, Neptune did not know.

"So, are you going to say anything or are you just going to keep staring at me?"

"Wha… Oh," Neptune winced again. Neptune thought it was kind of amazing how this woman could keep people in line without even looking at them. "You see, there's something I've been meaning to ask you and I figured, since I'm here, I might as well."

"What is it, Neptune?"

"How did you get so strong?"

The silver-haired woman finally pried her eyes away from the sky and directed her gaze at her purple-haired student. The question seemed to legitimately surprise her, for some reason. "What?"

"How did you get so strong?" Neptune repeated, "I've been training with you for a few months now, but I'm still no closer to even leaving a scratch on you." she elaborated. This finally seemed to garner her instructor's interest. "And please don't tell me it's because you're an adult. I've fought with some other adults, but none of 'em were even close to being as strong as you."

"What's this about getting into fights with other adults?"

"Hey, don't change the subject!" Neptune barked, "I'm saying I've never met a monster like you."

"I know, I know," the woman nonchalantly confessed. "I guess I should have expected you to ask me that at some point. Though, I'm afraid I can't answer that question, Neptune."

"Why not?"

"Other than the fact that you'd probably do something stupid if I told you?" Neptune winced at the cold accusation. And yet, her teacher's face remained as calm and stoic as ever, but for a brief second she could have sworn she saw something else in her eyes. It was only for a brief instant, but… Whatever it was, Neptune would probably never know. "Well, if you really want to know why, it's because you shouldn't be trying to get stronger the same way I did."

Neptune perked an eyebrow. She had never once doubted her instructor's wisdom, but at times like these she had to wonder what was going on in that head of hers. "What do you mean?"

"You're still young, Neptune. You have all plenty of time to climb the ladder," she continued, "I was born and raised under different circumstances, so I had to climb a lot faster, not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. It's rather peaceful these days, but when I was younger I was just as concerned about dying as I was about the next morning's breakfast."

"..." Neptune blinked, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "I… I had no idea..."

"Most people don't seem to know that," responded the teacher instantly. "Though, I don't really care either way. I like being able to spend more time deciding on what to have for dinner than I did thinking about _being_ dinner for a stray dragon. Even for me those things were still a bit of a pain to deal with."

"...Hey, do you think I can ever be as strong as you are one day?"

"Hard to say, really," the woman directed her gaze up to the clouds. She looked as though she was contemplating something profound. "You're a total slob with no motivation, so it's easy to say 'no'." Or maybe she was just thinking of other ways to make fun of Neptune. But that was totally fine! It's not like it bothered Neptune! No, why would that ever- "Then again, you picked up the basics a lot faster than I expected, not to mention you're way stronger than even a lot of adults."

Oh… Well, then. "D'aww shucks! I'm not that great!"

"If you actually applied yourself, then you could definitely overtake me someday. It might be a long way up, but as long as you keep climbing you'll get to the top of the mountain eventually."

"Aw, thanks Arfy."

"But you still have to put in the work to get there, you lazy ditz."

Neptune winced for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Even when she was giving out compliments her teacher really didn't like to mice words. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, I think." The purple ditz ended her sentence with an awkward chuckle as she rub the back of her head.

"You sure you don't want to head home yet?" the woman interrupted. "Your sister's probably going to be worried if you don't get home soon. Remember that time we ended up sparing until nighttime?"

"I know, I know," Neptune nonchalantly replied. "I'll be sure to get home before she organizes another search party to come find me." A dry chuckle escaped Neptune's lips as those memories resurfaced. "I guess even Nep Jr. didn't have much faith in me if this was the last place she thought to look for me in."

"True, but that was the first time you actually stayed here for any longer than you needed to. Even I didn't expect to see that from you."

"Speaking of which..." The purple-haired girl finally stood up from her spot next to her instructor. The silver-haired woman looked at her expectantly, so, putting on her cheekiest smile, Neptune gave her a polite bow and said, "Thanks for taking me under your wing, Silver- _sensei_. You helped me a lot, and really I don't know where I'd be without you, so… Thank you."

"Hm… I think that's the first time you called me that without me having to slug you."

"I still don't see why you tell everyone to call you Silver."

"Because if I have to hear kids like you call me "bar whore" one more time I'd be tempted to dust off the tetsubo in the back and play a game of whack-a-mole with their heads."

"Uh… I didn't know you had one of those, Arfy."

"There are a lot of things about me you still don't know. I'd say it's better that way."

"You know, you kind of sound like an Oni right now."

"Don't lump me in with those brutes. If I see a problem I'll just cut it up and bury it where no one will see it."

"I take it back! You sound like a serial killer!"

"Well this won't do. I can't have some little brat telling everyone my secrets."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't joke around like that, Arfy! I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

"Then get going already! I'm sure your sister's waiting for you, so scram!"

"Yes, sensei!"

Right on cue, Neptune turned and booked it down the stairs leading into the dojo, however, she stopped just as she reached the bottom and turned around, eyes burning with determination just like the first time she'd come to this dojo.

"I promise I'll definitely become stronger than you are someday, Arfy! And I'll do it my own way! Just you wait, someday I'll be so strong that it'll blow you away!"

And just like that, the purple-haired ditz went on her merry way back home. She left before she had a chance to see the look on her instructor's face, but she didn't need to see to know she was wearing a proud smirk on her face at that very moment.

"We'll see."

 **Silver Sky**

 **A/N: So thank you all so very much for reading this story of mine. This one-shot story is an AU inspired by Gintama, so sorry if ya don't like this version of Arfoire, but I wanted to play around with that. This was really meant to act as a sort of experiment in telling over showing, as in focusing more on dialogue and letting the reader imagine these events that may or may not have happened for themselves. Since a lot of people always say to show, don't tell they miss out on the true potential to be found in telling over showing, so I really want to experiment with that.**

 **Let me know how you think I did, or just let me know what you think of this one-shot in general. I really like pure Arfoire's design, so I may or may not use her more in future stories and one-shots of the like, so that's something to look forward to, I guess. And again, thank you so much for reading this story.**

 **-Draco**


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